An die Natur (To Nature, D. 372), from January 1816, is a sweet and simple hymn to Mother Nature from Schubert's 19th year. Setting Graf von Stolberg-Stolberg's childlike three-verse poem as a strophic song of utmost innocence, Schubert's major-keyed melody moves in easy steps over a placid piano accompaniment whose harmonies never stray from the home tonality of A major. Yet for all its artlessness, An die Natur is deeply felt and surprisingly moving: it comes as no surprise to learn that this was one of the songs Schubert presented in November of 1816 to soprano Therese Grob, the woman whom he would have liked to have impressed as both a composer and a lover.

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